Before We Fought
by iwriteshipsnotragedies
Summary: Wolfstar Slowburn starting in fifth year, and going all the way through to seventh where some jily is also introduced The POV is written in the same style as the Harry Potter books - third person single POV (which is Sirius). In this chapter, we get some background as well as a couple *hints* at a romance plus lots of marauders jokes.


Sirius awoke with a jolt. He had been dreaming that he was kissing Marlene McKinnon, when James had flown in through the window on a broomstick and told him not to be such a prat. Marlene had then proceeded to rip a mask off of her face, revealing a huge wolf where she had been while Peter slow-danced with a Hufflepuff in the background. It had been a strange, while not all together unpleasant dream.

"Padfoot!" Hmm. Perhaps he was still dreaming.

"Padfoot! For god's sake, wake up!" Nope. He was being jostled awake by James Potter.

"Padfoot! It's time for breakfast you prat!"

Sirius opened his eyes. A fully-clothed James Potter was peering testily down at him. How on Earth did that boy always manage to get up so early?

"Wormtail's already in the common room!" Peter too. How did _anyone_ manage to get up before lunch?

"Wha'bout m'ny?" he grumbled.

James snorted. 'What do you think?" As if to highlight the boy's words, a loud groan sounded from Remus Lupin's four poster. Remus had always been the worst about getting up, quickly followed by Sirius.

As a last half-arsed excuse to stay in bed, Sirius whined out "I'm not getting out of bed until Moony has to!" knowing that Remus would manage to stay in bed at least another five minutes, despite James' protests.

"Aww, we want to stay with our boyfriend a touch longer, huh Pads?" joked James.

"Can it Prongs!" said Sirius, whacking his friend with a pillow.

"Ow! You know, Siri, that really hurt. It hurt me on the inside." James said, patting the spot on his chest where his heart was.

"Oh poor Prongs! Will you ever be able to trust again?" Sirius hailed, playing along with James.

A voice sounded from across the room. "Will you two idiots stop flirting? I'm trying to rest a few more minutes," called a tired Remus Lupin.

Sirius feigned shock. "Remus! I thought you knew you were the only one for me! I would never be disloyal to you! Especially not by flirting with _him_!" Sirius made a face at James.

"Uggghhhh." Remus was clearly having none of it.

"Now, now, Sirius. We mustn't be rude to Moony today. You know it's his time of the month," said James.

"Shut UP James!" called out Remus, as James got up off of Sirius's bed and started toward the doorway.

"Well I'll leave you lovebirds to it then…if you value sleep over food then so be it," joked the bespectacled boy.

"We're _not_ lovebirds!" whined Remus.

Sighing, Sirius rolled out of bed, made his way to the chest at the foot of his four-poster, and grabbed his robes. As he pulled on his cloak over the rest of his clothes, he heard Frank Longbottom mutter something and shake his head.

…

Sirius had just gotten out of History of Magic, his last class of the day where both he and James had been asked to stay behind for disrupting the class. He was heading towards the Great Hall for supper. Today was the day. It would be a full moon tonight, and for the first time since The Incident, the marauders were transforming together.

It was all Sirius's fault, that Remus thought he couldn't trust the other three marauders to accompany him to the shrieking shack anymore. At the beginning of fifth year, when Peter, James, and himself had finally finished becoming animaguses, Sirius had heard Snivellus and another random slytherin whispering and eyeing Remus. Sirius could have sworn that he heard the greasy hairball say "werewolf" and Sirius had, from that moment on, resolved to do something about Snape.

After their first transformation, an idea began to to form in his mind. On the third full moon of the school year, Snape had entered the shrieking shack thanks to an anonymous tip Sirius had provided, and James had saved him, but not before he caught a glimpse of Remus as a wolf.

Sirius had felt terrible - Severus _knew_ , and while Dumbledore had made him promise not to tell anyone, he still _knew Remus's secret_ and it was all Sirius's fault.

For _months_ , the marauders had stayed apart. Remus had avoided them all, and Sirius who no longer trusted himself had purposefully distanced himself from his friends.

Despite the tension, Sirius went to the Potters over Christmas, while Peter and Remus each went to their respective families. It was the first Christmas since the marauders met that they hadn't spent together.

When they got back from Christmas, they all seemed to realize how much they had missed each other. All was forgiven, though Remus had insisted he transform on his own from then on-until now.

By now, Sirius had reached the Great Hall and was making his way to the spot on the griffindor table where his friends were seated. He sat down next to Remus who had Peter seated on his other side.

"Remmie. Petey. Jasmie's still talking to Binns. " he said.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Don't call me Remmie."

"I thought he was getting things in order for," Peter's voice lowered, "you know, the plan." the boy said, his eyes wide.

Just as Sirius shrugged and mumbled a reply, out of a mashed-potato-filled-mouth, James Potter came strutting down the Great Hall. He plopped himself down next to Sirius and served himself a mountain-load of mashed potatoes.

"I stopped by the tower after Binns. Everything's in order. We leave right after supper." He then gestured to a sack, undoubtedly filled with the invisibility cloak, the marauders map, and knowing James, some snacks for the journey to the shack.

Remus and Peter had already finished eating, and the former was eyeing the other two boys testily.

"Oy! I've only just got here! You need to give me some time to eat mate!" Sirius said, noticing Remus's irritable glare. James muttered agreement.

Remus sighed. "I know, I know. I'm just a little anxious, tonight being the full moon."

"We've noticed, mate!" James interjected, now wolfing down a shepard's pie. Ever since they had become animaguses, they had all become slightly more like their respective animals. Peter had developed an aptitude for scurrying, dodging, and hiding behind his friends when the group got into trouble with a professor. Sirius was constantly energetic, and Remus had complained on several occasions that Sirius smelled like a dog. And James-James ate a lot more now, as well as developing strangely good posture for a boy who considered slouching to be "cool" less than a year ago. "Birds like good posture," he had explained when questioned on the matter by Peter. "It's noble and strong-looking."

"Can we go now?" Peter whined.

"Fine!" cried James dramatically, shoving three rolls of bread in his pocket and a fourth one in his mouth.

Sirius sighed, eyeing all the food left on his plate, but got up to follow his friends.

…

Sirius was walking down the passageway from Hogwarts into the shrieking shack alongside his three best friends. James was munching on the bread he had brought from dinner and sipping from a flask of pumpkin juice. Peter was muttering about how he was sure they were being followed, while Remus was talking.

"Remember, you stay in animal form until I've gone back, right?" he said fretfully.

Feeling to blame for Remus's worried attitude, Sirius spoke up. "Remus, mate I won't mess up again. I've learned my lesson. Remember, we're doing this for you."

"I know." admitted Remus, looking slightly more calm than he had a moment ago.

At that point, they arrived at the shrieking shack. Remus peeled off his robes as well as his shoes and socks. As Sirius watched him, he felt a strange sense of protectiveness rise in his belly. It must have been the dog side of him-or maybe he was digesting his food - he really couldn't tell.

Peter had already transformed and was running around the room, sniffing things. The three remaining marauders glanced at each other, grinning.

As Sirius felt his body change in that familiar way, he caught a glimpse of James growing antlers and heard a familiar, strangely endearing howl. Monny, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were back - and this time Sirius wasn't about to mess it up.


End file.
